Review: Zig Art & Graphic Pens

Product Details

Manufacturer/Brand; Kuretake/ Zig Art & Graphic

Item number TUT-80/12V Muted

RRP at time of writing: £23

Reason For Buying

I had tried the Brushables and really enjoyed using them, however there is a much larger colour pallet available in the Art & Graphic range and wanting to paint flora and fauna these looked a good idea.

Pros/Cons

Pros

Twin tipped.

Water based dye ink

Xylene free & no smell

Rubber brush tip, HIGHLY flexible

Fine nib fiber tip at the other end.

Really juicy

You can scribble on to acrylic block and pick up the colour with damp brush to water-colour larger areas

Colour direct to rubber stamps for multi coloured images

Even though it is a large brush you can still get to fine point for fine detail

Cons

I haven’t got any, I love them. Perhaps a finer version of the rubber brush nib at the other end would have been good but the bullet nib is great for fine detail.

Build Quality

Superb, the lids are well-fitting but not too hard to remove. The pen colour number is printed on the pen barrel so if you need to replace a colour later on you will still have its details. The rubber nib is amazing, really flexible and the ink flow is perfect.

Value for Money

Fair for the quality. They may not be the cheapest pens around but they sure do earn their keep.

Would I buy it Again?

Yes, after ten minutes with this set, I ordered the brights and I’m looking out for the pastels set too. (All in sets of 12). For the rest, well I’ve a big birthday this year so guess whats going on my wish list.

Summing up

You just have to try them, they are amazing. The rubber nib is unlike anything else, it makes for a true brush like experience, even to the fact that the ink colour varies depending on the amount of pressure you put on the nib. As you lift off the pressure the colour lightens.

Like this:

Related

5 Responses

Will you stop adding to my wish list 🙂
Do you think these are better than Marvy Le Plume? Already on my wish list are various colouring media including watercolour pencils, watercolour crayons and ordinary colour pencils although I already own some pencils and watercolour pencils I would like to upgrade the type I have.
I have a good selection of Marvy Le Plume markers and a few Promarkers – although the jury is still out on these. So……do I need these Zig pens?????

Oh dear, I’m terrible aren’t I. If it makes you feel any better I have a mile long wish list myself.

Personally I haven’t tried Marvy La Plume pens, but the difference between the nibs on Marvy’s and these A&Gs is that the Marvy’s have a fibrous nib, not sure how flexible it is. These A&Gs have a rubber nib that is really flexible, not quite as much as the brushables, but it is a delightful nib to work with.

I have seen sets of 4 Zig Art & Graphics available on Amazon for under £8, well worth getting a set to try. I’m posting a video tutorial on friday with the Brushables and there is a project at the end that was created with the A&Gs.

I’ll post a picture of the project next monday and a page from my sketch book. The way the A&Gs nibs flex you get an amazing graduation of colour.

Like Marvy’s you can still use a damp brush to water colour with them, and colour onto a rubber stamp too. Unlike Marvy’s you shouldn’t get a fluffy nib after inking rubber stamps, as the nibs are rubber.

Its something you have to get your hands on to see the amazing difference.

Water colour pencils;
I use FaberCastel ones and love them.

Watercolour crayons;

I haven’t used these as much as I thought I would. the wax content makes them a bit of a pen killer if you write over them.

If you can afford it go for Caran Dache Neocolor II. They are worth the £s and are a joy to use. For a good colour pallet and a more affordable option try Lyra’s, available from Joanna Sheen’s website.

Sorry for the essay, I have trouble with short replies eh! OOps this reply is as long as the post [blushes}

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